Payload
• Douglas Gorman
Iridium shareholders approved Rocket Lab’s acquisition with 99.6% of votes cast in favor, advancing a transaction valued at $54 per share through a mix of $27 in cash and collared Rocket Lab stock. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by mid-2027.
Commercial Space
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Iridium shareholders approved Rocket Lab’s acquisition with 99.6% of votes cast in favor, advancing a transaction valued at $54 per share through a mix of $27 in cash and collared Rocket Lab stock. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close by mid-2027.
Rocket Lab is challenging NASA’s decision on a Mars mission contract while emphasizing that the agency represents a limited share of its broader business. The dispute highlights the company’s effort to balance government space work with a more diversified commercial strategy.
Voyager and Exobiosphere are adding two International Space Station campaigns as they develop a recurring model for drug research in microgravity. The expansion signals a move toward repeatable, campaign-based commercial experimentation in orbit rather than isolated research missions.
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Beyond Gravity is doubling production capacity for satellite dispensers as Amazon Leo accelerates deployment of its low-Earth-orbit constellation. The expansion highlights the manufacturing scale-up required to support Amazon’s planned satellite network and the suppliers positioned to serve it.
The nose cone for the Callisto reusable rocket demonstrator has been shipped to CNES for integration, marking another step toward the vehicle’s initial hop tests in 2027. The milestone indicates that the demonstrator is moving from component production into vehicle-level integration ahead of its flight campaign.
SpaceX completed a wet dress rehearsal of its Starship megarocket on Sept. 24, clearing a key prelaunch milestone ahead of the vehicle’s planned first orbital test flight on Sept. 28. The rehearsal keeps the launch campaign on schedule, pending final preparations and approvals.
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Jeff Bezos has committed approximately $30 billion of his personal fortune to Blue Origin since founding the company in 2000. The scale of the investment underscores the Amazon founder’s long-term backing for a commercial space venture positioned against SpaceX.
HawkEye 360 announced multiple contracts worth approximately $18 million with customers in the Middle East. The agreements expand the commercial satellite company’s regional business, underscoring continued demand for space-based capabilities among customers in the region.
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